Chapter 129 True Immortal, No! Zhong Jiuli!
"It's been a long time since any ant has dared to be so insolent before me," the Void Demon King coldly sneered. "You are the first. Once I suppress you and make you my war slave, I'll slowly savor those delicious little insects outside."
Before the words were even finished, its enormous figure vanished instantly, only to reappear in front of Zhong Jiuli in the next moment, brandishing its massive claws to grab at her.
It's fast, but Zhong Jiuli is even faster. Even though the other party's level is a whole realm higher than hers, it's laughable to try to outrun someone who has mastered the laws of time.
The moment the spatial fluctuation occurred, Zhong Jiuli floated backward, leaving the area she had just been in, and at the same time applied a time slow-down effect to her location.
The moment the Void Demon King appeared, it knew it had fallen into a trap again. Its claws seemed to freeze, slowly falling from the air.
Zhong Jiuli was in mid-air, her body radiating a burst of silver light. Her fair hand held a bow like a full moon, and a silver arrow wrapped in the power of the moon instantly took shape at her fingertips.
"Clang!"
The bowstring vibrated, and the arrow flew from the bow.
Time seemed to accelerate a thousandfold at that moment. The silver arrow was faster than divine sense could capture, and it seemed to have hit its target the instant it left the bowstring.
The Void Demon King's ferocious expression froze on its face. Its head was pierced by an arrow, and thousands of silver rays shot out from its pitch-black head. Then, its huge head exploded on the spot like a rotten watermelon.
Zhong Jiuli remained vigilant, her fingertips still resting on the bowstring. Her brows furrowed slightly; the arrow had clearly shattered the opponent's head, yet the Void Demon King's life force had not dissipated but instead spread outwards.
"Hehehe..."
The Void Demon King's laughter echoed from all directions, its disgusting sounds emanating from every piece of scattered flesh.
"I'm growing more and more fond of you. It would be perfect to train you into a battle slave and have you follow me to conquer all realms."
The headless body of the Void Demon King strode across the scorched earth, and the scattered flesh and bone fragments seemed to be summoned, converging towards it.
Zhong Jiuli narrowed her eyes as she watched the Void Demon King grow a complete head again.
The Void Demon King twisted his neck, blinked his huge compound eyes at Zhong Jiuli, and sneered, "Only when you reach the realm of True Immortal will you understand that below the True Immortal realm, all are ants."
Its aura suddenly changed, and the terrifying aura of a thirteenth-level great demon enveloped the world.
The power of the void was activated, and this area of space froze.
"The game of cat and mouse is over. My hunting game begins." The Void Remote Control raised a giant claw and pressed it forward.
Zhong Jiuli sensed a strange fluctuation approaching, and the Taiyin energy around her surged wildly as she struck out with her palm towards the space above her head.
"boom!"
The spiritual palm and the invisible giant claw collided in mid-air, creating another earth-shattering explosion.
In that instant, the Void Demon King took a step forward and arrived directly in front of Zhong Jiuli. It swung its sharp claws and grabbed at Zhong Jiuli.
Zhong Jiuli's expression changed slightly as she realized the other party's intentions. However, this space was sealed off, and the power of time flowed out again, fighting against the power of the void.
Taking advantage of this brief respite in the slowed-down time, she drew her bow and conjured a silver-white arrow.
The arrow had barely left the bowstring when it froze in mid-air, unable to reach the Void Demon King's swung claws.
The claws continued their momentum, striking Zhong Jiuli directly, sending her crashing down like a meteor onto the scorched earth below.
"Bang!"
The earth trembled, and a huge crater appeared instantly, with smoke and dust billowing into the sky.
Those blocked by the great formation were all shocked to witness this scene. Liu Xianyue roared angrily, "Zhong Jiuli, break the formation and let us in to help you!"
"Sect Master Zhong, please dispel the great formation!" Ning Ran drew his sword and shouted.
Several people were poised to charge into the scorched earth and fight the Void Demon King to the death once the great formation was broken. A dozen or so others were already quietly retreating, unwilling to confront this formidable enemy head-on.
At the bottom of the pit, Zhong Jiuli spat out a mouthful of blood. She heard the shouts of the crowd and saw the Void Demon King walking through the air above the pit.
A huge shadow fell from above. At this critical moment of life and death, all she could think about was that stinking tiger still in seclusion. She wondered if, once she emerged and couldn't find her, the tiger would fly into a rage and destroy the entire Sanqing Sect.
As for those who wanted to come in and help, she didn't intend to let them all come in to die.
The Nine Provinces need these high-end combat forces. If these people are all lost here, who will be able to stop the Void Demon Clan when they invade again in the future?
"Hehehe... Now do you know the difference between you and me? You ant, how dare you challenge divine might?" the Void Demon King sneered.
Zhong Jiuli lowered her eyes, starlight swirling in her palm, and a fairy herb surrounded by starlight appeared in her palm. The fairy herb was very small, only a foot or so long, but it was also very large. On each leaf, there was a real river of stars flowing.
This item is the Star Grass obtained from the Sand Spider's Nest. Bai also gave this immortal herb to Zhong Jiuli, who was still Huolan at the time, but she never took it.
“I originally wanted to leave it for you…” Zhong Jiuli sighed inwardly.
This item is rare; perhaps there will never be another one like it in the entire Nine Provinces. She wanted to save it for when Bai Ye broke through his cultivation barrier. Without the help of a supreme treasure of heaven and earth, it would be difficult to overcome the shackles of heaven and earth to break through to the Ascension Realm.
Even someone as stunningly beautiful as Liu Xianyue was trapped in the Mahayana stage for ten thousand years, only managing to find a glimmer of hope for breaking through by being reborn from the ashes.
"It's actually a divine herb! Could it be that you're offering up this precious medicine to beg me to spare you?" The Void Demon King grinned maliciously as he pounced, trying to snatch the divine herb from Zhong Jiuli's hand.
The moment it made its sound, Zhong Jiuli had already put the Star Grass into her mouth. The instant the grass leaves touched her lips, they transformed into a flowing galaxy that surged into her body.
"boom!"
Vast starlight burst forth from its body, and a bright moon seemed to appear in the deep pit. The Void Demon King was blasted backward by this mysterious power of starlight, and this pure and holy power scorched its dark scales, causing wisps of black smoke to rise.
Zhong Jiuli floated up from the bottom of the pit, with the moonlight and stars flowing around her. Her already cold face was now radiant with a holy glow, and starlight flowed on every strand of her hair.
She slowly opened her eyes, and in them, the moon phases rotated, and stars vanished.
Three hundred and sixty-five natal stars manifested and slowly rotated around her. At this moment, she transformed into a goddess who controlled the stars and the moon.
Meanwhile, across the Nine Provinces, turmoil was brewing. Farmers working in the fields, street vendors hawking their wares, and cultivators meditating in seclusion—everyone looked up at the sky.
In the clear blue sky, the phantom images of the stars appeared on the celestial canopy, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth transformed into streams of light, surging wildly towards the far east.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered from all over the land of Kyushu was poured into that figure shrouded in stars and moon.
Zhong Jiuli closed her eyes slightly, immersed in breaking through the barrier. With the support of the power of the stars, the cleansing of her meridians by immortal herbs and divine liquid, and endless spiritual energy of heaven and earth surging towards her, she was able to achieve her goal.
Her path to breaking through the barrier remains incredibly difficult.
This world lacks certain key elements for breaking through realms, which is why it is difficult for everyone to break through.
The path to immortality is bound by invisible shackles. If Zhong Jiuli wants to break through, she must break through the constraints of heaven and earth. To become an immortal, one must first break through the heavens, then break through realms, and only then can one attain the Great Dao.
"Ha! You overestimate yourself. Even if you consume the immortal herb, you won't break through." The Void Demon King roared angrily.
As if to prove its point, Zhong Jiuli's steadily rising momentum suddenly stopped. Breaking through a barrier is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. This pause made it very likely that she would never be able to break through again.
"What's going on? Why did she stop?" Liu Xianyue, who was outside the formation, was very anxious.
"The Heavenly Road is cut off, even she can't get out?" Jiang Zhiming muttered to himself.
Everyone stared intently at the figure standing in mid-air. Many people had mixed feelings, both hoping that she would break through and fearing that she would.
If Zhong Jiuli truly opens the path to immortality, the major sects of the Nine Provinces will be suppressed by her for tens of thousands of years.
Zhong Jiuli swayed slightly inside the formation. She opened her eyes, looked up at the sky, and sighed softly, "If Heaven has a spirit, could it help me break through this barrier?"
"Hahaha, what a fool's dream! I don't want to take you as my battle slave anymore. Before you can fully absorb the immortal herb, I'm going to devour you!" The Void Demon King roared and pounced on Zhong Jiuli again.
However, the celestial light emitted by the Star Grass still lingered around her, protecting her from harm, and the Void Demon King could not touch her.
Zhong Jiuli stood in mid-air, looking up at the sky, unsure whether she was waiting for divine mercy or for an opportunity to break through her cultivation barrier.
Beyond the Nine Provinces lies a void.
There is no passage of time, no sunrise or sunset, only an endless, hazy gray fog.
The remains of a giant tree, long since withered and decayed, stood in the void sea. The broken part of the trunk was grotesque and terrifying, as if it had been forcibly broken by a tremendous force.
Amidst the billowing gray mist, a tall figure in a white robe slowly emerged. The woman's black hair was loose, and her figure was shrouded in the hazy glow of the sunset, making it impossible to discern her features.
She descended through the air, landing before the towering tree. Her pale fingertips traced the cracked bark, as if greeting a long-lost friend.
"She's about to take that step. Are you willing to lend your homeland another helping hand?" the woman murmured to herself.
The withered tree remained silent, unable to speak. Only its enormous root, anchored deep in the sea, began to move slowly. A powerful, dragon-like root, carrying a drop of golden sap, appeared before the woman.
"Thank you," the woman said softly.
With a flick of her finger, silver light flowed from her fingertip, enveloping the drop of golden liquid. The silver light broke through the barrier of space and time, plunging into the rolling river of time.
Above the Sword Tomb, Zhong Jiuli looked up at the sky with a slight smile on her lips. What she had been waiting for had arrived.
A drop of golden liquid, enveloped in silver light, traveled across the river of time and space.
She raised her hand and caught the drop of golden liquid. She was very familiar with the power that enveloped the golden liquid, which confirmed her guess.
When the Void Demon King saw the golden liquid in her hand, his huge compound eyes gleamed with greed. The aura emanating from the golden liquid was extraordinary; it was the primordial aura of chaos that could only be possessed at the beginning of creation.
"Give it to me!" it roared, its massive body lunging at Zhong Jiuli without regard for the consequences, even at the cost of being burned by the protective divine light.
Zhong Jiuli glanced at it indifferently, as if looking down at an insect in a swamp. In front of the Demon King, she put the drop of golden liquid into her mouth.
"boom!"
The golden liquid entered his body, filling the last bit of emptiness.
Zhong Jiuli radiated a dazzling celestial light. The essence of the moon, the power of the stars, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and the primordial divinity contained in that drop of golden liquid converged within her body.
These energies transformed into a divine hammer within her body, repeatedly hammering and forging her body, soul, and even her understanding of the Great Dao.
Through repeated hammering, the path to immortality, which had been severed for tens of thousands of years, was finally broken open, hammer blow after hammer blow.
The world instantly turned dark. It wasn't that the sun had set, but rather that the entire land of Kyushu was shrouded in endless calamity clouds.
Thunderclouds rolled, and a chaotic aura permeated the air, as if a cataclysmic calamity was about to descend.
The scene was terrifying. Throughout the Nine Provinces, countless sects activated their protective formations, and the defensive formations of major cities also lit up. Meanwhile, ordinary people living in the countryside hid in their homes, keeping their doors and windows tightly shut.
"How could it be Chaos Tribulation Lightning?" The Void Demon King was horrified. It turned and fled, its claws tearing through the void as it tried to avoid the attack.
"I told you, you will die." Zhong Jiuli shouted, her figure flashed, and she stepped into the void passage along with the descending chaotic tribulation lightning.
"Are you crazy?" The Void Demon King was shocked and furious, and hurriedly turned back.
The void passage is inherently fragile. If one is struck by tribulation lightning while traversing it and falls into a spacetime turbulence, it would be a worse thing than death.
The back-and-forth struggle between the two lasted only a moment. By the time they returned to this scorched earth, the first chaotic lightning tribulation had just arrived.
Chaotic energy filled the space with lightning, and two figures, one large and one small, were simultaneously engulfed by the lightning.
The Void Demon King let out a mournful howl. As a different race, it was naturally rejected and suffered far more from the tribulation lightning than Zhong Jiuli.
Its jet-black armor crumbled and fell away during the lightning tribulation, revealing charred flesh underneath. The smell of burning flesh was pungent. It lost half its life in just one strike.
Zhong Jiuli also suffered from lightning tribulation, but her white clothes fluttered and her whole body was filled with lightning. Although her skin was charred, it was not damage, but rather impurities expelled from her body after the lightning tribulation.
To transform from mortal to immortal, one must naturally undergo the baptism of lightning tribulation. Only by clearing away all the impurities remaining in the mortal body can one achieve the supreme immortal body.
Before the first lightning tribulation had completely dissipated, the second lightning tribulation followed, and then the third lightning tribulation.
Zhong Jiuli did not summon the lightning tribulation to deal with the Void Demon King. To her, this Void Demon King was no longer a threat. At this moment, it was more important to overcome the lightning tribulation and achieve the Great Dao.
She stood suspended in mid-air, letting the lightning engulf her body. Bolts of lightning rained down, and Zhong Jiuli was reborn amidst this tribulation.
After the ninefold tribulation, all the spiritual energy around her transformed into a misty immortal aura. Every gesture she made exuded a natural Daoist charm, her whole body radiated immortal light, and her skin emitted a fragrance that made people feel refreshed and happy upon seeing her.
The thunderclouds in the sky gradually dispersed, but the surging chaotic energy did not completely dissipate. Instead, it condensed into a budding blue lotus flower and slowly fell to the ground.
"This is the Chaos Green Lotus???" someone outside the formation exclaimed in surprise.
“Impossible. The Chaos Green Lotus has long since disappeared into the river of time. This is nothing but a phantom,” Jiang Zhiming said.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the blue lotus formed from chaotic energy floated towards Zhong Jiuli, transforming into a beam of blue light that entered her brow, leaving a faint blue lotus mark on her forehead. A moment later, the mark disappeared into her body.
At this point, the lightning completely dissipated, and light returned to all parts of the Nine Provinces. Spiritual rain, carrying a trace of celestial energy, fell upon the Nine Provinces, blessing the land.
Everyone inside the Sword Tomb looked up as the celestial rain fell. Apart from that, there was no sign of the celestial gate opening and the divine miracle of immortals being summoned, as recorded in ancient texts.
This made everyone very discouraged. So even if someone becomes an immortal and the path to heaven reopens, they still cannot escape this world?
Zhong Jiuli suppressed her immortal aura, and in that instant, she seemed to have become a mortal, with no magical fluctuations around her.
Everyone naturally knew that she had not truly become an ordinary person, but rather had returned to her original, simple self.
She turned to look at the Void Demon King, whose shell was charred and cracked, and asked calmly, "Aren't you going to run away?"
The Void Demon King seemed to have just come to his senses. He hurriedly swung his sharp claws to tear through the void, dragging his broken and enormous body as he vanished into the void.
Zhong Jiuli stepped forward and entered the void passage. She was determined to strike at the heart of the enemy and restore eternal peace to the Nine Provinces.
"No, Zhong Jiuli!!!" Liu Xianyue outside the formation cried out in alarm.
The figure in white turned around at the sound, waved her hand to dispel the great formation, and looked at her close friend across the distance. Her gaze fell on Liu Xianyue, her lips moved slightly, as if she had something to say.
Liu Xianyue shook her head repeatedly, trying to stop them, saying, "Don't go. We'll just stay in Kyushu. No matter how many demons come, we'll just kill them all."
Zhong Jiuli sighed helplessly, and in the end, she could only say silently, "Keep an eye on her for me."
"You picked up this little tiger yourself, so come back and take care of it! Don't go. Even if you break through, what then? The thirteenth rank is not the end. There are still the fourteenth and fifteenth rank great demons. If you go there, you'll be isolated and helpless. How will you cope?"
Zhong Jiuli didn't say anything more. She took one last look at this world. The immortal energy was vast, and a huge hand that covered the sky appeared out of thin air, taking all the shadow demons that were still struggling on the scorched earth into its palm.
Clad in flowing white robes, she resolutely turned around, taking these ghostly creatures with her and disappearing into the void passage, vanishing from everyone's sight.
The world was silent.
The group, which had arrived amidst laughter and chatter, was now utterly silent. The leaders of the various sects stared at the empty, scorched earth; none of them, given their cultivation levels, could keep up with Zhong Jiuli's pace.
The departure of a true immortal beyond the realm is something that cultivators cannot achieve.
"What should we do? Once Sect Leader Zhong leaves, will he ever return?" Finally, someone spoke up, breaking the silence.
These words immediately created an awkward atmosphere. With the Void Demon Clan temporarily blocked, many people's attention had already turned to the Three Pure Ones Sect.
The accumulated spiritual veins, magical treasures, cultivation techniques, and secret realms of the Sanqing Sect over tens of thousands of years have now become a tempting piece of meat, waiting for everyone to take a bite.
"Everyone, the great calamity has not yet been resolved. The Void Demon Clan, who have already infiltrated the Nine Provinces, are still scattered in various places. Do not let your guard down," Jiang Zhiming reminded, which was also a warning.
Internal strife at this time would be tantamount to destroying one's own Great Wall.
Unfortunately, such warnings are no match for the greed in people's hearts.
The leader of the Youzhou Ghost Gate was the first to cup his hands in greeting: "Sect Master Jiang is very wise. I will return to Youzhou now and send my disciples to search for traces of the Void Demon Clan."
As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a beam of light and shot into the sky, as if a moment's hesitation would mean missing a golden opportunity.
As soon as the leader of the Ghost Control Sect left, more than a dozen people took their leave. Some of them made up an excuse, while others didn't even bother to make one and simply flew away.
Without Zhong Jiuli keeping them in check, the team immediately disintegrated.
Liu Xianyue watched these people leave with a cold eye. If it were up to her, what did the destruction of the Nine Provinces have to do with her? In any case, no matter how many people died, they would not die on her head.
Unfortunately, she had a close friend who cared deeply for the world and was incredibly stubborn. She couldn't let the sect her friend left behind be destroyed for no reason.
“Let’s go too.” Liu Xianyue grabbed Jiang Zhiming’s sleeve and flew away.
She needed to rush back to gather manpower and make follow-up arrangements.
......
Zhongzhou, the Three Pure Ones Sect.
Just a few months after Zhong Jiuli left, the Sanqing Sect, once hailed as a sacred land of the Nine Provinces, was like a lone boat that had lost its anchor, drifting uncertainly in the undercurrents. Even the Sanqing City at the foot of the mountain was thrown into chaos.
At the west gate of the city, a small tea stall that has been passed down for hundreds of years closed early today.
The young owner, who was also the shopkeeper, was packing up the unused tea leaves and other items in her small tea stall. She planned to go back to her hometown in the countryside tomorrow to avoid the storm. There had been some rumors circulating in the city recently, and she had heard a few of them.
The shopkeeper sensed something was wrong; she knew one thing well: nothing was more important than her life.
She was busy at the tea stall when she suddenly heard a commotion coming from the city gate.
The young shopkeeper casually pulled the rag off her shoulder and peered outside. What she saw shocked her.
Outside Sanqing City, the city had been surrounded at some unknown time, and the sky was filled with warships, their banners fluttering and obscuring the sun.
The leading warship belonged to the seven great families of Guzhou, who had been dormant for a long time. They had joined forces with dozens of major sects and were besieging the city.
Judging from this posture, it seems like they are about to attack Sanqing City. It is the appearance of these warships that has caused the commotion among the people.
"Why have you all come to my Sanqing City with such a large entourage?" A clear voice rang out from within Sanqing City, echoing across the surrounding area. Only the voice could be heard, but the person could not be seen.
The heads of the seven great families of Guzhou exchanged glances and responded in unison, their voices like thunder: "We have come to welcome back our ancestor!"
"Looking for your ancestors? You've come to my Three Pure Ones Sect? What, you've come here to acknowledge me as your ancestor?" A sneer echoed through the city once again.
A figure in green rose into the sky from the city. The newcomer wore a sky-blue robe that fluttered in the wind and held a halberd. She stood in mid-air, facing many powerful figures alone, and her aura even seemed to subtly overwhelm them.
The leader of the Ghost Control Sect transformed into a wisp of black mist and drifted toward the front of the formation. "Who do we have here? It's none other than Peak Master Qi of the Battle Peak. What, Peak Master Qi, do you naively think that you alone can stop our army of thousands?"
Qi Fengzhu narrowed his eyes and quickly scanned the sky. He saw that among the dark mass of warships, in addition to the seven great families of Guzhou and the Yu Gui Sect, there were also the sword flags of Sword King Valley, the Yin-Yang array diagram of Liangyi Island, and many other major sects from the Nine Provinces.
"Old ghost Yin, are you here to find your ancestor too?" Peak Master Qi demanded.
"My great-grandson only participated in a genius competition, and his cultivation was completely destroyed. I want to see who could be so ruthless," the sect leader of the Ghost Control Sect replied.
Upon hearing this, Peak Master Qi's face curled into a mocking smile: "Oh? That's strange. I clearly remember that on the arena that day, from beginning to end, I didn't see a single person from your Ghost Control Sect. Are you getting old and forgetting who your own children are? Are you senile?"
"And you too." Peak Master Qi swept his halberd horizontally, pointing it directly at the warships on all sides. "You, one by one, don't try to come up with any high-sounding reasons."
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Author's note: [Hugs][Hugs][Hugs] Come on, let's read it together: This is a wish-fulfillment novel, and wish-fulfillment novel authors never kill off characters!
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